WPR26LA178

On April 25, 2026, at 1026 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 162, N162HA, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Everett, Washington. The flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The flight instructor and student pilot reported that they were performing touch-and-go landings on runways 34L and 34R at the Seattle Paine Field International Airport (PAE), Everett, Washington. During a subsequent takeoff, after the nose landing gear lifted off the runway surface, they heard a loud clunking sound. They conducted a normal climb and requested clearance from the tower controller to perform a low-altitude pass over the runway, to allow ground personnel to visually inspect the landing gear. Flight school personnel reported to the pilots that the nose landing gear appeared damaged. After performing additional low-altitude passes, the flight instructor chose to land on runway 34L. During the landing roll, the nose landing gear collapsed and folded aft, which resulted in substantial damage to the bottom of the fuselage near the firewall. The airplane was retained for further examination.